It has always pained me a great deal that so many people all over the world are genuinely fascinated by ancient Egypt and yet they are so woefully misinformed by sensationalist media, so-called documentaries based in pseudoscience, and the fantasy world of Hollywood. No other ancient civilization is so universally recognized and yet so thoroughly misunderstood. Sadly, Egyptologists are often so frustrated by this that they want nothing to do with the situation; it’s not just a matter of educating people, it’s completely reeducating them, trying to reverse the damage caused by ‘The Mummy’ and even the Discovery Channel.
When I tell people that I’m studying Egyptology, people always assume that this means pyramids and mummies, the only things they know about Egypt. In fact these areas are so popular that they are overrun by untrained theorists and most Egyptologists shun them rather than tackling all of the misinformation. Sometimes I can hardly blame them; even as a lowly student, I was once approached at a conference by a man who wanted to show me the home experiments that he’d carried out, pulling miniature pyramid blocks in his backyard! The sad thing though is that many people prefer madcap theories to the truth, especially when genuine research is presented in dry academic speak rather than the exciting Indiana Jones-style of tv.
Once I was actually asked in all seriousness for my professional opinion on whether alien build the pyramids. The man said: ‘There’s so much discussion of the alien theory that there must be something to it, right?’. Well, my short answer would be, ‘No. There isn’t anything to it at all.’ My longer answer will follow, with a thorough dissection of the central arguments of the alien theory and why they are wrong. I think the main reason the theory is so popular is that people like to believe in things, things that are much bigger than themselves, whether it’s god or aliens. But often people also want proof and they seek to find it in the pyramids and other ancient monuments. It’s no wonder that the pyramids are incredible enough that they inspire people to believe the unbelievable. I myself don’t think there’s anything wrong with postulating that there might be other life out there in the universe, but I also don’t believe in robbing humanity of pride in its achievements.
I think it’s rather more inspiring to think that human beings, our own ancestors, created such spectacular monumental achievements. However, some people see the concept of civilization as progressive, that humans only continue to improve upon the past, so they think that just because we are uncertain about how the pyramids were built and we ourselves would struggle to replicate their achievement, it is impossible that humans of the past could have done it.
They say that since the pyramids of Giza were built about 4500 years ago, people back then couldn’t have been skilled enough to do it. However, we’re ignoring that numerous remarkable developments were happening all those millennia ago. There are many things that were discovered in the distant past that still serve us today. The Egyptians made many brilliant innovations (something I will have to write more about in another post): simple things that we still use today, which have barely changed over the millennia since they first conceived, from the earliest forms of paper and ink, to the 24 hour day.
People say that since we wouldn’t be able to build pyramids today, that the Egyptians couldn’t have done it, but it’s not just building of the pyramids that couldn’t be replicated today. It’s hard to imagine ever being able to pull together the resources, power, money, skilled craftsmen, and architects needed to build one of the great gothic cathedrals in this day and age. It just couldn’t happen. This isn’t something to be ashamed of though, we simply use different technologies and have different priorities these days. While we couldn’t build another Notre Dame Cathedral or Great Pyramid, modern structures like the Eiffel Tower or the Gherkin wouldn’t have been possible back then either. Pyramids were possible simply because the entire economy, resources, and population of the Egyptian civilization was under the control of a single omnipotent ruler, who could mobilize them all into a monumental building project.
To argue that just because we don’t know every detail about how the pyramids were built would be a logical fallacy (an argument from ignorance) and does not prove that aliens must have built them. We have so much evidence that strongly indicates that the Egyptians themselves were responsible for building the pyramids. We have archaeological evidence of their construction: remains of the quarries, roads, tools, records of the workers and the towns in which they lived. We know why they built them and we can even observe their lengthy and imperfect evolution before they reached their architectural peak with the Great Pyramid.
To properly address the issues out there, I will cite from a number of websites that support the theory that aliens built the pyramids and some of the comments that individuals have posted there, and explain why they are incorrect. I randomly chose a number of sites from the top Google search hits for aliens and pyramids. I don’t want to single anyone out or anything, so I won’t use any names attached to the comments. The various websites from which they derive are listed at the end of this post.
I am no great pyramid expert myself, so I must acknowledge an enormous debt to the work of Mark Lehner and Dieter Arnold, from whom most of my information derives, along with other Egyptological sources, all of which are also listed at the end. I’d recommend Lehner’s ‘The Complete Pyramids’ as the best general book on the subject if you want to learn more. It is very readable with lots of illustrations and diagrams.
Why were the pyramids built?
Referring to the alien theory, someone states: ‘It’s the most sensible theory. Why would ancient Egyptians build such monstrosities just to bury their kings?’ Alien theorists say that it’s a mystery why the Egyptians or other ancient people would build such immense monuments. Therefore, it must have been aliens. But why on earth would the aliens want to build these monuments? And on earth? That makes even less sense. We definitely know the purpose behind the building of the pyramids.
They were used as tombs for the ancient Egyptian kings, but they represented much more than just a grave. They were iconic symbols of the supreme power of the ruler; what better way of showing your subjects who’s boss, than conscripting them to build you a monolith that dominates the entire landscape? Above all, they were monuments to divine Egyptian kingship, the place where the king would be transformed into a god. One of the most important Egyptian myths tells how an ancient king named Osiris was murdered by his evil usurping brother, who in turn was eventually defeated by the rightful heir to the throne, Osiris’ son Horus. In death, Egyptian kings were thought to take on the role of Osiris, the ruler of the underworld, while their son assumed the role of Horus and the kingship. And although deceased, the former king would join the eternal cycle of life to be reborn everyday with the sun god. The pyramid was thought to facilitate this. This also legitimized the rule of the successor to the throne, since the pyramid was a symbol of his father’s new divinity.
There are a number of reasons why these tombs were built in a pyramidal form. First of all, they developed out of an older form of monumental royal tombs called mastabas, which were flat-roofed rectangular buildings, that an enterprising architect named Imhotep then decided to adapt by stacking one on top of the other into a step pyramid form. Also, the pyramid was intended as a place of rebirth. An Egyptian creation myth tells of the birth of the world as a primeval mound rising out of the waters of chaos. The pyramid is a stylized mound.
In a country where the sun is always shining, the sun god Re was the supreme deity, and the king aspired to join him in being reborn every dawn. The pyramid form echoed the rays of the sun and its staircase like form allowed it to serve as an instrument of ascension. Each of the pyramids was capped with a pyramidal stone block, or pyramidion, and the carvings on the one from Amenemhat III’s pyramid at Dashur confirm its celestial role for the king; it is inscribed with a pair of eyes looking up at the sundisk and hieroglyphs that read ‘Amenemhat beholds the perfection of Re’.
The ancient names for the pyramids themselves reveal a great deal about their purpose as royal monuments and symbolic locations for the king’s divine transformation and journey to heaven. The Great Pyramid is called ‘Khufu’s horizon’, and the other two Giza pyramids are called ‘Great is Khafre’ and ‘Menkaure is Divine’. Other pyramid names include ‘Djedefre is a Sehed-Star’ and Sahure’s ‘Rising of the Ba-Spirit’. Just because the Egyptians were interested in the celestial aspect of the afterlife though, doesn’t mean they had to be inspired by aliens. People throughout history have been fascinated by the stars, and I don’t think anyone’s calling Galileo an alien.
The pyramids themselves were clearly part of Egyptian religious tradition, forming the focal point for the worship of the deceased king. Some of the rituals involved cleaning, dressing, and offering food and drink to statues of the king, who was undoubtedly human rather than green or tentacled. We actually have records of the day-to-day activities centred around the pyramids. The Abusir papyri preserve detailed records of the daily activities at the pyramids and of the people who worked there, including schedules of priest and guard duties; inventories of pyramid temple equipment; financial accounts; lists of goods supplied and stored; and records of architectural inspections.
The Egyptians had strong cultural, religious, and political reasons for building the pyramids and there is no reason to question their purpose.
Some internet sites claim that the pyramids were never used as tombs, perhaps because they now lie empty.
This is because they were robbed in antiquity for the treasures that would have been buried with the king. There are still huge stone sarcophagi in many of the pyramids that were clearly used to hold the royal mummy. Funerary texts are also written inside the burial chambers of pyramids built after the Giza ones. The temples attached to the pyramids were used for mortuary rituals at the funeral.
Alien theorists often say that the pyramids couldn’t have been built by such ‘primitive’ ancient people and it’s strange that the pyramids suddenly just appeared out of nowhere
The main idea that most people use to support the theory of alien pyramid builders is, and I quote, ‘that ancient man was ‘primitive’, ‘living in mud huts’, and too ‘stupid’ to build such sophisticated constructions. One website states: ‘In the period 2500 BC man did not have the tools or knowledge necessary to build the pyramids, so only aliens could have done it. The angle of the slope of the sides is so precise only aliens could achieve this. The blocks are so heavy and the pyramid so tall only aliens could achieve this. How the aliens built the pyramids is not known, but they would have employed the use of advanced construction equipment.’
First of all, these ancient peoples were nowhere near as stupid as the people who make such statements. While we may have accumulated knowledge over the centuries, our species’ brains haven’t changed at all in the past few thousand years and ancient people were just as intelligent as we are today.
Before the pyramids were built, the Egyptians had developed agriculture, writing, religion, astronomy, mathematics, metal-working and semi-precious stones, sophisticated artwork and monumental stone architecture, and had managed to unite the various people throughout the country under the rule of one king. This was a true civilization, not a motley band of savages. The pyramids of Giza were incredible achievements for the time: expert Mark Lehner calculates that 9 million tonnes of limestone were quarried between the reigns of Sneferu and Menkaure alone.
When you really learn enough about them, it’s not difficult at all to imagine that the Egyptians were capable of such architectural sophistication. They had a certain expertise in stone working that we lack today. By the time of the pyramids, a corps of craftsmen had been developing their quarrying and building skills since the Early Dynastic Period. We have evidence to support the Egyptians’ responsibility for all the construction stages of the pyramids.
A similar claim for the sudden appearance of the pyramids from nowhere, out of the supposed dark ages that proceeded civilization, is made in a Discovery channel programme about the alien theory (!) in which the voiceover states: ‘For two and a half million years our prehistoric ancestors had been living in caves, passing the time by bashing stones together, when suddenly everything changed and people began to build huge monuments all over the planet. But how? And why?’
They blatantly ignore the fact that we have clear evidence for the evolution of the form and building process of the pyramids. These perfections of architectural engineering did not just appear from nowhere and the Egyptians actually got it wrong in a number of early pyramids before they were able to create the Giza masterpieces.
The first pyramid ever built, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, started off as a completely different style of building. Originally, a traditional mastaba was built for the Third Dynasty king Djoser. The architect Imhotep then began to make innovative changes by enlarging the basic structure to be a square and then building a smaller mastaba-like square on top. But he didn’t stop there; inspired, Imhotep expanded the building once again and added a fourth, fifth, and sixth level to eventually form the Step Pyramid.
A remarkable structure with an extensive surrounding complex and subterranean palace, it was still not a true pyramid with smooth sides. After a few other stepped pyramid projects were abandoned by short-lived kings, the first attempt at a true pyramid finally developed out of the stepped pyramid of King Sneferu at Meidum.
The Meidum pyramid was originally intended to be a 7-step pyramid and was then expanded to 8-steps and completed in the 14th year of Sneferu’s reign. In his 28th or 29th year though, the
workers were sent back again to fill out the rest of it into a true pyramid. Stripped of its outer casing, the remains of the pyramid stand in three large steps. Before he did that though, the ambitious builder Sneferu began building another pyramid at the site of Dashur that was the first pyramid intended to be a true pyramid right from the start. Unaccustomed to building such a structure though, construction began at too steep an angle, a slope of 60°. When severe structural problems were noticed, the architects took emergency measures and altered it to 55°. Still having problems though, they changed it again to a more gradual gradient of 44°, resulting in a rather odd looking pyramid, which has appropriately been dubbed the Bent Pyramid.
Some alien advocates actually try to use this pyramid to support their theory by claiming that the Bent Pyramid was just a shoddy imitation built by humans to copy the aliens who build the Giza pyramids. However, the pyramid is very conclusively dated to years 15-30 of Sneferu’s reign. This first attempt at a true pyramid was so problematic though that Sneferu abandoned it too, and started another pyramid at Meidum. Learning from previous mistakes, the North pyramid continued to build on the developments of Sneferu’s previous efforts, resulting in the first truly successful and magnificent true pyramid.
Pyramids did not suddenly appear out of nowhere, beamed in by alien technology. Only after all of these less successful attempts, and all the experience gained by architects and workers, could the stage be set for the construction of the greatest of world wonders.
How did the ancient Egyptians build the Pyramids?
Pyramid building was a long and complex process that took many different stages and and an amazing amount of resources, but was well within ancient Egyptian capabilities.
The Great Pyramid is composed of roughly 2,300,000 blocks and was likely built in 23 years or less (the length of its builder King Khufu’s reign according to the Turin papyrus). Stadelmann has calculated that to do this, the builders had to lay c. 340 blocks a day. The general figure suggested for the annual workforce is in the range of 20-30,000. Although it needed a great deal of stone, the bulk of it would have been more easily moved as it would have gone into the base of the pyramid, and even though the Great Pyramid was the best constructed, the core itself was also rather sloppier than the exterior, including many irregular stones and debris fill.
I will break down my discussion of the building process into the various stages:
Planning
The Egyptians were careful and precise architectural planners. Even buildings much older than the pyramids were laid out using an exact measuring system based on a unit called a cubit (about 52.5 cm, which could be further divided into smaller units called palms). Representations of foundation ceremonies for temples show this measuring process, called the ‘stretching of the cord’, being done using ropes tied to wooden pegs pounded into the ground. Many round holes that may have been for measuring pegs have been found cut into the bedrock around the foundations of pyramids and their temples.
The angle of inclination (seqed in Egyptian) for the sloped faces of the pyramids was clearly calculated by the Egyptians using a simple and precise method. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus shows that seqed was defined as the relation between the horizontal setback of the wall and the vertical rise of 1 cubit. Pyramid alignment is further discussed below. There is also evidence that they produced miniature architect’s models, much like is done today, as part of the planning. Rainer Stadlemann found a small limestone architect’s model for the innovative substructure of Amenemhat III’s Hawara pyramid.
Quarrying
We know that local limestone was used for the pyramid cores and the mortuary and valley temples, while finer limestone and granite were brought along river from Tura and Aswan to use for the smooth outer casing.
The quarry used for Khufu’s pyramid is located on the plateau itself, 300m south of the Great Pyramid, a huge horseshoe shaped chunk out of the plateau, dug up to 30m below the original surface. Khafre’s quarry gives a good example of how the blocks were actually quarried. In the open limestone quarry just north of his pyramid, there are still the stumps of 3x3m blocks that were removed thousands of years ago with trenches in between them where the stonecutters would have worked.
Stone tools were used for quarrying. Blocks were cut by pounding channels into the limestone using hammer stones to separate them from bedrock and then detached using large wooden levers. Traces of these channels remain and there are still a number of unfinished quarry blocks that lie almost detached from the bedrock not far from the Sphinx, and in Menkaure’s quarry, where huge lever sockets are also visible.
In an interview with NOVA, Mark Lehner explains the strongly human and flawed side to these monuments: ‘A pyramid is basically, most basically, two separate constructions: it’s an outer shell of very fine polished limestone with great accuracy in its joints and the other construction is the inner core, which filled in this shell. The core was made with a substantial slop factor, as my friend who is a mechanic likes to say about certain automobiles. That is, they didn’t join the stones very accurately. You have great spaces between the stones. And so they’d jam down pebbles and cobbles and some broken stones, and slop big quantities of gypsum mortar in there.
We saw in many places, even on the giant pyramids of Giza, the first pyramid and the second pyramid and the third one, fragments of tools, bits of pottery that are clearly characteristic of the Old Kingdom. So you see the pyramids are very human monuments. And the evidence of the people who built them, their material culture is embedded right into the very fabric of the pyramids. And I think I could take just about any interested person and show them this kind of material embedded in the pyramids as well as tool marks in the stones and say, hey, folks, these weren’t lasers. These were chisels and hammers and you know, people who were really out there.’
Workers
There is actually a lot of evidence left of the ordinary people who performed the strenuous building work, who weren’t aliens, but most definitely Egyptian. While the total number of the workforce is speculative, we do know about the division of the work force and the size of these groups. The work force was organized by crews, each of roughly 2000 conscripted peasants, comprising two gangs of 1000. Each gang was divided into five groups of 200 men called zaa, also known by the Greek name ‘phyle’. Within each phyle were ten divisions of twenty men. The gangs seems to have been competitive and had names relating to the reigning king, for example ‘Friends of Khufu’ or ‘Drunkards of Menkaure’, and they actually graffitied their names on the buildings!
The stones from some of the Middle Kingdom pyramids have rough hieroglyphs inscribed on them as notes for either scribes or controllers. These notes consist of the date of transport, the workmen in charge of the block, and the stage of transport. Some state ‘brought from the quarry’ or ‘removal from the quarry’, delivered at the mereyt (harbour or embankment), ‘brought from the embankment’ and delivered to ‘storage enclosures’. Other notes records that they were ‘brought’ or ‘dragged’ to the pyramid, or ‘delivered to the ramp’. Herdsmen are also mentioned, who may have been responsible for driving oxen pulling the stone.
The stones also have team marks written on them to record the name of the team responsible for them. They may have been written and read by the basically illiterate workmen themselves, since some involve true hieroglyphs and others invented signs. Felix Arnold believes that the signs related to the worker’s hometowns, which weren’t in outer space.
There are also written documents that deal with the pyramid builders. Several of the Lahun papyri from the town associated with the pyramid builders of Senwosret II document the dragging of stone blocks by groups of workers.
Transport
The Nile River was the highway of Egypt and any finer stone that was quarried from further away was transported to the pyramid site by boats. Most of the stone was quarried nearby though, and wooden sledges were probably used to transport the blocks over land. A 4.2m long sledge was found by the pyramid of Senwosret III. At least some of these sledges would have been drawn by oxen. A number of tomb and temple wall paintings depict the transportation of stones by water and by sledges drawn by men or oxen.
Roads and tracks were made to pave the way for these sledges. Worn wooden beams were reused like ‘railway sleepers in tracks’ for dragging heavy stones on sledges overland. Such tracks have been found at Lisht near the Twelfth Dynasty pyramids of Amenemhat I and Senwosret I. Transport roads, which also survive at Lisht, measure up to 36 ft in width. They were made with a foundation consisting of a fill of limestone chips and mortar with wooden beams inserted, over which a layer of limestone chips and white gypsum was used to provide a smooth, solid surface. Water used as a lubricant for the ground to make it easier to pull the sledges.
Transporting immense quantities of stone was not an impossible task that would have required space ships, but well within the ancient Egyptians’ capabilities.
Laying the blocks
When the stone blocks were finally being moved into place, to preserve the precise alignment of the walls, corner blocks would be set first and then other blocks would be brought in on rollers but only lever moved into their precise final placement using levers. For example, one of the casing blocks of Khufu’s pyramid shows a lever hole in the base of the block that was then filled in with plaster. But lacking in ‘alien perfection’, sometimes since there were different teams working to lay blocks from each of the pyramid’s corners, they could end up with a gap in the middle, which would need to be filled with smaller blocks, as is the case with the pyramid of Meidum.
It is generally thought that ramps were used to move the blocks to the higher levels of the pyramids. Certainly some of the proto-pyramids, the step mastabas of the Third Dynasty show evidence of having had building ramps on all sides. For true pyramids, using such ramps blocks could have been towed to a height of 30-50 m, and at least 50% of blocks could have been lifted that way. The Meidum pyramid shows traces that indicate a steep ramp was applied to the outer casing. These ramps would not have been difficult to build or dismantle since they would have been made from an amalgam of limestone chip, tafla, and gypsum, rather than stone blocks.
All sorts of ramps have been proposed, from single or multiple straight ones to ones that would wrap around the structure or zigzag up the face or even internal ramps. Just because we don’t know for certain how the upper reaches of the pyramids were built, doesn’t automatically mean that they couldn’t have been built and are therefore alien constructions. There are a number of different ways it could have been done, but sadly we aren’t just able to ask the Egyptians which one is right. There probably isn’t even one simple answer, a number of different methods could have been used.
But…pyramids would have been really hard to build!
A lot of website comments display a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of pyramids. One states: ‘There is no way that primitive man built the pyramids. Even with modern equipment (i.e. cranes) we could not duplicate that feat, those are megaton (1million ton) rocks. You could surround the entire rock with men and it wouldn’t budge 1″. There’s no way with simple ropes & pulleys that they moved those stones… absolutely NO WAY.’
While, yes, the pyramids would have been incredibly difficult to build and required incredible expertise, they are not miracle structures. People seem to think that you’d practically need magic to build them! They’re amazing feats of engineering, but they’re certainly not inconceivable as human creations. The blocks were certainly not a million tonnes each! On average, they weighed about 2.5 tonnes. And the suggestion of lifting the entire weight of the blocks with cranes would probably actually be more difficult than the Egyptian approach, which was to drag the stones over wooden rollers or slippery mud lined surfaces. We even have the remains of the smoothed roads that they built to move them. Just think about it…while I can barely lift my suitcase when it’s stuffed to the brim and weighing almost 30 kg, it’s relatively easy to move when it’s on wheels! By surrounding the blocks with teams of men, it wouldn’t have been that difficult to move them, and the Egyptians often used cattle to help as well. The NOVA pyramid-building experiment found that 20 men could easily pull a two-tonne block along lubricated tracks. Building the pyramids would have been difficult, but people can be pretty clever when it comes to making work easier.
What about the pyramids’ extraordinarily accurate alignment?
Precision, according to one website, is only possible if you come from another planet: ‘The pyramids are so accurately aligned with the points of the compass that only aliens could have achieved this all those thousands of years ago.’ It wasn’t visitors from space, but rather the observation of it that allowed for the Egyptians’ great accuracy in orienting the sides of the
pyramids. Amazing precision could be achieved just by watching the stars. There was actually a whole institution within temples with priests devoted to star gazing. The theory suggested by I.E.S. Edwards is that using a horizontal circular wall, a person standing within could mark a star’s rising and setting points on the top of the wall, with North identifiable as the bisection of these. A more recent theory advocated by Kate Spence suggests that the architects of the Great Pyramid sighted on two stars (b-Ursae Minoris and z-Ursae Majoris), rotating around the North Pole, which would have been in alignment when Khufu’s pyramid was constructed. Supporting this theory is the fact that inaccuracies in the orientations of earlier and later pyramids can be closely correlated with the degree to which the alignment of these two stars deviates from true north.
The perfect right angles of the pyramid were likely achieved using either a set square, of which ancient specimens are preserved, or using a ‘Pythagorean’ triangle, which was known to the Egyptians before the Greeks. They also used specialized surveying tools called the merkhet (basically a plumb bob) and the bay, a sighting tool made from the central rib of a palm leaf. Examples of such precision tools have actually been excavated are square levels with plumb bobs, set squares, and vertical plumb rods, and there are depictions of them being used by the Egyptians. After each of the four corners of the building had been plotted, the Egyptians would align the straight sides by stretching a rope between each of the corners in a ceremony called ‘stretching the cord’. This method was in use for decades before the first pyramid was ever built, and was first depicted in the reign of the Second Dynasty king, Khasekhemwy.
But then why don’t we build pyramids?
Again, misinformation makes people assume that since we aren’t building pyramids ourselves, the Egyptians couldn’t possibly have. As one person states: ‘How about the fact that a group of modern scientists attempted to build a pyramid out next to the real one using modern technologies, and after something like 100 days, succeeded in building one about 1/40 of the size of the real one????’
Well, again a classic example of wilful ignorance. I’m sure there have been a number of experiments like these, but the major one that I’m aware of, the NOVA pyramid-building experiment took 40 days to build a pyramid measuring 20ft high. However, they attempted to use mainly ancient technologies, they only had a team of 44 workmen, a short time period, and a total lack of experience in pyramid building. And it was just an experiment, they weren’t trying to build a real pyramid! Egypt had a state-controlled system capable of acquiring and organizing the necessary people and resources. The Egyptians would have used thousands of workers and taken many years to build a proper pyramid, and just because we aren’t building them too doesn’t prove that it was humanely impossible.
The pyramids of Giza form the belt of Orion
A theory proposed by Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert, notes that the pattern formed by the layout of the pyramids is virtually identical to the three belt stars of the constellation Orion. If one considers the details of the Orion correlation it seems likely that it is pure coincidence. Orion’s belt is a famous star formation partly because of the natural simplicity of its layout. The arrangement of the Giza pyramids in that pattern was probably simply because it offered the best sight lines. Basically the pyramids are laid out in a diagonal line, rather than blocking each other. Khafre built his pyramid after his father Khufu built the Great Pyramid and very cleverly situated his smaller pyramid on the higher part of the plateau so as to actually make his appear bigger than his father’s!
Bauval and Gilbert further pressed the Orion comparison by using computer software to pinpoint the date in ancient history when the alignment of the pyramids would have exactly mirrored the constellation Orion in the sky. They claim this conjunction occurred precisely in 10,450 BC and therefore this is the true date of the building of the pyramids by aliens, before the rise of Egyptian civilization. However, there is absolutely no evidence that the pyramids existed before the Egyptians did. There is overwhelming evidence that they are the cultural, religious, and political products of the early Egyptian state. The Giza pyramids were built during the 4th dynasty, which probably dates to around 2575-2450 BC.
Radiocarbon dating, which is unfortunately not always that accurate, was done on the Great Pyramid several times in the 1980s and 90s, (initially funded by the Edgar Cayce Foundation, another group that wanted the pyramids to date to 10,500 BC, believing them to be remnants of Atlantean society!). The radiocarbon dates for the Great Pyramid ranged from 2660 to 3809 BC, slightly older than the historical dates previously assumed. Also, the great cedar boat found buried beside the Great Pyramid was radiocarbon dated to about 2,600 BC. So the pyramids certainly do not date from 10,500 BC!
So yes, the Egyptians, not aliens, built the pyramids!
Pyramid building became a great cultural tradition of the Egyptian and about 30 key pyramids were built, not including all the accompanying satellite or queens’ pyramids, over a span of more than 800 years, remarkable monuments, for which the Egyptians deserve the credit.
The theory that aliens built the pyramids is built on fanciful notions, misinformation, and a wilful ignorance that completely disregards any scholarly research that contradicts the theory. Alien theorists have barely anything to support their idea other than the tactic of attacking the uncertainty of Egyptologists over the details of the building process. They prey on the people who find inspiration in the concepts of the pyramids and alien life and use them to fuel publicity for their sensationalist books and television programmes. Both ‘Is there Life elsewhere in the universe?’ and ‘How were the pyramids built?’ are questions worthy of being asked, but they belong to separate spheres of research and different periods of history, and should be kept that way. Zahi Hawass, the head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt and the Director of the Giza Pyramids Excavation, says of the people who believe in alien theories, ‘People like to dream. If you meet someone who is not an archaeologist, they love to dream, but you have to know a little bit about reality.’ While reality might not involve conspiracy theories or UFOs, it can still be thrilling to learn about the real people behind their creation.
We shouldn’t rob ourselves of feeling pride in the pyramids as a human achievement. In building these monumentally inspiring constructions, our ancestors built the foundations of civilization. We shouldn’t betray their ingenuity with our ignorance, but celebrate it by continuing to build upon the intellectual developments and inventions that made the pyramids possible.
References:
Arnold, Dieter. 1991. Building in Egypt. Pharaonic Stone Masonry. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Aston, B., etc. 2000. ‘Stone’ in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, eds. Shaw and Nicholson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Edwards, I.E.S. 1985. The Pyramids of Egypt. New York & London: Viking Penguin.
Lehner, M. 1985. ‘The Development of the Giza Necropolis: The Khufu Project’. MDAIK 41, 109-143.
Lehner, M. 1997. The Complete Pyramids. London, Thames and Hudson, Ltd.
Quirke, Stephen. 1990. The Administration of Egypt in the Late Middle Kingdom. New Malden: Sia Publishing.
Websites consulted:
http://www.outerworlds.com/likeness/aliens/aliens.html
http://netscientia.com/egypt.html
http://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/Who%20built%20the%20pyramids.htm
http://www.csicop.org/si/9909/fox.html
Hi,
Well i like looking into this and i believe that their are aliens out there, and so on. Not many Official UFO sightings i believe, however i look into this stuff in depth. Aliens as far as i would evidence back, have been visiting us since 160,000 years ago, and have been introducing modifications to human DNA.
Religion, as introduced for the fact that we wouldnt go to war with each other which in effect had an opposite effect, and led to long believes.
I feel yes, man may have helped in the buildings of pyramids, but theres so much calculations, theories behind the pyramids it surely cant be 1 civilisation. I mean, surely at this time we are beginning to gain understandings for alot of things, which you explain very well, with mathematics and such. But if this is the case, surely ‘alien beings’ i.e. not of earth origin. helped develop these to try keep the threat of wars between people away, it makes sense. I mean large structures unbelievable at the time would put fear into most, and more of a united front formed. Obviously it didnt, but it also shows why recent activity of UFO’s has gone up, alot more official sightings, due to less global wars happening and more of a peace sighted front between most (Not All).
I mean yes, i dont study astronomy or egypts history/ancient history. But i think for the arguement to be better you should read up on alot of theories, involving alien beings, then it could be more of a fair stated arguement, as it seems very 1 sided.
Thanks
Martin.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT,
If it was Egyptian technology that built the Pyramids, how come their building knowledge wasn’t passed on, not only that, the ramps to get the stones to the top of the pyramid would of had to be at least two miles long and fifty to sixty foot wide, because you say the sledges that carried the blocks was thirty six foot wide, not only that, how could you get enough men round the two and a half ton block to push it into place once you got to the top of the pyramid, that alone is puzzling?.
The ancient Egyptians new allot about basic engineering and construction. This guy found away to move heavy stone blocks using low tech methods, no UFOs or sorcery required.
http://www.theforgottentechnology.com/
As far as the drawings of aliens, they also worshiped the sun as a god and thought he went into the underworld every night on a barge to battle demons – but only if he could get past the giant serpent trying to eat him! Ancient folks were very religious and also worship animals as well. You would think that aliens would enlighten them and not just pile up a bunch of rocks and then just take off. I wouldn’t confuse their religions with UFOs or aliens.
A favourite argument of the “alien theory” defenders seems to be that there is no evidence as to who built the pyramids. May I point out to them that the workmen’s settlements, bakeries etc (equivalent of canteens, I suppose), tombs and other infrastructure have actually been found and are being excavated. The excavations also show that the workers were fed well and had access to the best medical care of the time!
And of course there are the still somewhat experimental earlier pyramids (pyramid collapsing during construction, angles having to be changed because things went wrong, starting with mud-brick sized blocks etc. etc.)
And may I ask, do the people who see UFOs in hieroglyphic inscriptions actually read Egyptian? If they don’t then it is a bit of a Rohrschach test thing – I could find depictions of aliens in the handwriting of some of my colleagues at work if I were so inclined!
It is depressingly typical that so many people, a number of whom have posted here, honestly believe that a civilisation that existed before us was capable of doing something which ‘modern’ society is not. How massively arrogant. How totally condescending.
I hate to tell you this guys, but our ignorance how someone did something in the past doesn’t automatically mean that they didn’t do it themselves. Aliens? How about some extremely clever individuals, a boat-load of ingenuity and a gargantuan workforce?
I’ve noticed a recurring theme about those here who dismiss the notion that the Egyptians built the pyramids. First, you work on the assumption that you, as individuals, know more about the practicalities of large scale stonemasonry and construction than people who did it for a living. You assume that if you don’t know how to do something, anyone who lived 4,000 years ago couldn’t possibly know either.
Don’t get me wrong – I think the universe is full of possibilities and it would be a massive waste of space if life didn’t evolve on other planets. But seriously, aliens coming all the way here to build the pyramids? Some of you asked why humans would build them. Why would aliens?
Oh and by the way, ‘aliens on tomb walls’ – I assume you’re referring to Amarna period artistic depictions of the royal family – it’s an artistic convention. It’s designed to communicate ideas which cannot be expressed in words. Did Picasso paint his subjects as they actually appeared? No. Does everyone think his subjects were actually aliens? No.
And Benjy, what do you mean by a ‘fungus never before seen on earth’? Mention the mummy’s curse. Go on. I dare you.
i think that the aliens built the pyramids because no evidence has been found regarding the egyptians built such a well calculated structure,it requires even more advanced technology than we have today to build such a giant ancient megastructure.
The great pyramid was built in 22 years.. correct? That means each block weighing tons had to be cut, transported, and placed every 9 seconds.. 9 Seconds. We would have trouble building the great pyramid that percise today in 22 years.. So ur honestly trying to tell me that they build that with all human power? perfectly? And they ment to put it on the longest line of longitude and latitude right? Explain how it was built, in detail. Im dying to know.
-Thanks
Our ancestors, human ancestors, built the pyramids.
Just because no modern engineer or architect, that I know of, has come up with the technicalities of building them with ancient world technology and materials it doesn’t mean that one or many humans of the BC era couldn’t have concieve such engineering marvels!
Just because the creators of the twin towers and the Seattle Space needle and the Eiffel tower did not think of creating pyramids with ancient world tech and materials does not mean the ancient engineers and people could not have built them.
Just because the particle accelerator and atom bomb makers shake their heads as to how the pyramids were made does not mean people couldn’t have thought and built them (the pyramids).
The proof?
It’s there before your eyes!! The great pyramids stand before you in all its glory, withstanding centuries of earthquakes, storms, floods and other earthly calamities!
No aliens, no gods, just plain old human ingenuity created the pyramids.
Don’t believe all this nonsense about ETs dumbing down the human race. Don’t believe these modern people dumbing down the ancients and you!!
Horrible! These modern people believing ETs only could have created the pyramids are dumbiing down you and the human race!!! Yeah, they are dumbing down your ancestors and your genes!!
Believe in the powers of the human mind and the strength of the human body!!! Not ETs!
Again, human ingenuity built the pyramids!
Geeze!!
It was refreshing to read all the above proposals, theories, rethoric answers and questions, this shows that the human brain is a wonderfull machine still fully untaped, as we all know. Curiosity? hunger for knowledge? will lead us one day to find a proper sense to all these lagoons of wisdom. Let’s keep searching, being curious, somehow the light will show one day at the end of our tunnel of ignorance. All scholars or not, should be humble enough to recognise that no one until now, has the “authority” to ascertain or deny what is beind discussed here. Cheers!
This article is leaving out a lot of information that does support an alien “help” in building the pyramids, the most signifacnt pyramid being the great Pyramid of Giza…The great Pyramid of Giza itself is aligned at the furthest point latiude and longitude meaning it is aligned at the exact point of the center of all the land mass in the world. The corners also align almost perfectly with the four cardinal directions, which were not discovered or brought up yet. The Great pyramid weighs so much that it has to sit on top of a land mass stable enough to supoort its weight, and it so happens to sit on top of a section of land perfect for doing so when around it, other sections of land could not be able to. The Great pyramid was said to be built in 22 yrs or so, meaning these stones weighing between 2-25 tons would have had to be cut from the quarry, moved, and placed, one stone about every minute. It is mentioned logs could roll them. The stones from the quarry weigh a certai weight too heavy to do so easily. The stones would crush or definitely wear away the 5-10 logs being used to roll it by the time it reached the construction sight. Meaning, after each stone the 5-10 logs would need to be replaced, and since theres well over 100,00 stones in the great Pyramid, thats over half a million logs used. The idea of a ramp is also stated, yet to build a ramp to drag these stones on up to the top eventually the top of the Great Pyramid, the ramp itself would have required more stones that the pyramid itself. Theres egyptian hieroglyphics on the walls in some of the tunnels of the pyramids..how was this done with no light? theres insuffecient amounts of oxygen within these tunnels, especially towards the bottom and the end of these tunnels to breathe, let alone fuel a fire or a torch. Plus, if a torch or flame was used, there would leave ash or black sut residue atop the cielings of the tunnel, yet theres none there. Egyptians also may have been intelligent at this time because i am not doubting the intellect of man, but for a fact, there was no tools present to be able to make cuts on these stones of this precision and miniscul error. You can be smart, but if the tools dont work effectively, you still cant make a precise cut such as the ones on the Great pyramid. Also, another fact or thing to look at is at this time, all the continents were already seperated. How were the ideas of pyramid structures made by all types of cultures and tribes across the world. Same thing goes with heads of Easter Island, those too are seen all across the world, yet these civilizations did not have connection with eachother. Theres even more evidence but i feel this is enough to question. These are just some things to think about and try and answer
I am glad that we have someone like the Eqyptologist that authored this blog and posted it in this site. The large majority of scientists have turned their backs on UFOlogy, never mind the Eqyptologists. I authored “How Modern Society Invented UFOs.” I explore various themes and relate them to our present culture. With regards to the Ancient Astronaut Theory, proponents of such a theory are taking the idea of creationism and changing it where it were aliens who created humans and of course the pyramids. -cheers!
It may be possible that the 2.5 ton blocks could have been transported by boats and pulled or pushed along smooth roads or on rollers,but how did the egyptians get the blocks onto the boat and how did they transport the blocks to the topmost part of the pyramid?And what is the reason for the labyrinthine passages,mazes and crypts inside?I’m sure the ancient architects didn’t do that for kicks,so if the pyramids served as tombs,why go to so much trouble to build catacombs in which workers could get so easily lost or which cost so much extra work,planning and resources for just the sake of a magnificient tomb?
If wooden rollers were used to transport 2.5 on blocks over long distances,they might have worn out very easily,so on average,how many trees would have to be cut down to serve that purpose? (as far as i know,egypt being mostly in the desert grows a majority of only date palms,so where did the trees for the gigantic rollers come from?) And also how did the egyptians manage to get the 2.5 ton blocks onto the rollers?
I agree with the author Margaret Maitland and the rest that aliens did not build the pyramids. If they had the technology to travel the universe and land on earth, they would also have the technology to build other structures that would serve humans for more practical use. The friendly aliens would have definitely communicated with humans and adviced us on other matters in terms of science, medicine, tools and shared their advance way of life etc. Sadly, they have not… so my belief is that they had not visited us….yet
My verdit: Credit to the ancient Egyptians for their achievement in building the pyramids all by themselves.
how could they make such precise cuts with exact measurements? u say that most ofnthe stones weigh 2 tons, what about the heavier ones? if they were smart enough to use wooden rollers why the hell were they still walking? you said they used cows to pull heavy stones but not a man? How did they get the stones onto the rollers? You question the holes in their evidence while leaving your own.
What a research! but still I support the theory that aliens built the pyramids.Just think about the comment by “Jeez”.
The fact that we humans are not ready to accept that something more intelligent is out there makes us more foolish.I mean we have to “think out of the box”. Tell me how many dimensions were there in the world? :Three. After Einstein? Four. Now somebody says Nine(9). What I wish to conclude is the Egyptian Kings may have tried to mimic the work involved in building Giza pyramid but they did not build it, no way,period.
Why would a ‘far more developed civilization’ build or help build the pyramids from limestone. If aliens gave the Egyptians advance technology. Why give them knowledge of working with limestone. They could have given the Egyptians knowledge of cement to build them faster and easier. Or the aliens could have made them out of granite. If I was an alien and I was going to make a massive structure out of stone, granite would be my choice. It is a much more durable material. And when its polished looks great too.
And if the aliens were passing out technology, plumbing or cement would have been nice. Instead of that electric “light bulb” some people believe they gave the Egyptians. Plumbing and cement are great simple technology with many benefits. Where as building with limestone and that electric “light bulb” are very complicated and impractical technologies.
there are many issues here that the author seems to have chosen to not address or fail to expain in detail:
1) the emergence of pyramid style structures showing up simoultaneously all over the world at the same time
2) the acceptance that at 340 stones installed per day the workforce would be installing a stone at nearly one every two minutes and 20 seconds on a 14 hour work day 365 days a year. These stones are similar in weight to a ford f150. Can you imagine trying to move and coordinate this type of feat(carving, mobilization and installation) on a daily tract for 23 years?
3) the hardest known metal at the time was copper, what type of tool or method was used to quarry these stones?
4) what type of infrastructure was incorporated to move the rocks up the pyramid and when the pyramids were completed, what happened to the infrastucture which would have been at least 1.5x the size of the pyramid?
5) The pyramids are geographically located on the greates landmass laitutedly and longitudinally, how did they accomplish that?
6) the ceilings in the kings chamber are finished at a smoothness that rivals what can be done today, and at truer angles that can be replicated today. How was this accomplished?
call me a conspiracy theorist, a nutcase or what have you, but when you’re done, please explain these nagging questions so that i may join the ranks of the all knowing
Thank you for this blog. As an undergrad student of Anthropology/Archaeology I am constantly battling people with theories such as the ones you stated. It is nice to have a professional who works in the field address this issue with actual facts in great detail. I used a lot of the information you gave in a blog of my own, don’t worry, I cited you. Thank you again.
First off, your statement, “Radiocarbon dating, which is unfortunately not always that accurate” is wrong. It is very accurate, if you believe in science.
Second, I have never heard an of an alien theorists
refer to ancient man as stupid and lazy!
Alien theorists say the Egyptians had help. They too see the pictures of blocks being pulled by rope, on the walls. But some of the blocks found, weigh as much as 12,000 tons. There is nothing made today, that can move them… Was it because the earth was still flat? And things were easier to move?
Then your crazy statement, “I don’t think anyone’s calling Galileo an alien.” I’m sorry, how does that play into your explanation of how 1600 years later, when he discovered that the earth went around the sun? No one is calling Egyptians aliens.
And last, your statement, “Alien theorists often say that the pyramids couldn’t have been built by such ‘primitive’ ancient people.” is not true either. We say they did not possess the tools. They had copper and Gold, but some how cut 250 million blocks of pure granite… using no steel, no diamond tools, no pulleys… for just one Pyramid!!
I think what the Egyptians did is magnificent, they certainly were not as you portray to others, how any theorist think of them. That being said, I will accept that the Egyptians built all of the magnificent structures, once you show me how it was done.
It is obvious they had tools that no longer exist. What happened to them?
And last, are you a Christian? Because that would be consistent with the carbon dating disbelief and any thought of another life form, especially one more advanced.
Peace and Love
able2think
Since you would not post my last comment, I shall try again…
Just one Pyramid has over 250 million blocks of solid rock, that weigh 2 to 3 tons each. And they were carved by using what, gold and copper tools? At a time when they still thought the world was flat, the sun went around the earth and Pharos were gods, that lived forever.
The fact is, with all of mans hydraulic powered tools, and mega trucks and huge cranes, man today, could not build a matching pyramid! Some of the stones found near the pyramids weigh 12,000 tons. It would take 22 of the worlds biggest heavy lift cranes, just to pick it up, let alone move it.
But if you insist there was no alien influence, then it is obvious that the Egyptians were much smarter. Especially since they did not have the wheel yet, or pulleys.
I guess they just picked those blocks up and put them in place, it’s easy. So easy in fact, no one has figured out how to do it.
Oh and people who believe in alien influence, do not think ancient man was lazy… Where did you get that?
Peace and Love
What a fantastic website, so many possibilities on how these stone structures might have been built. Another posibility that hasn’t yet been mentioned is water. Yes just plain old simple water from the Nile.
When the blocks of stone were brought close enough to the building site and off loaded from the barges, they were put in locks, (remember they had the same brains we have only not the tools) and floated up or down thru canals or trenchs or whatever it took to place them. Of course the pyramid was also flooded up to that level, drop the stone in place on it’s proper concourse and move on to the next stone. Internally the maizes, passageways, etc were used during building to drain and flood the site as needed for the placement. Many of the passageways were then sealed up upon completion of the pyramid. Pretty simple, huh?
For the Egyptians side. Let us clarify this for any future posters. The stones were approx. 2.5 tons. Theres been many arguments that you couldn’t get enough people around it to move a stone that size. I have no basis in physics, or any science for that matter, but even i’m aware there’s simple ways around that. 40 people couldn’t fit around that stone, no. However forty people could tie ropes and drag it. Secondly, theres so many arguments about “Why would the egyptians build pyramids?” Turn it around. Why would aliens build pyramids, leave no mark to show for it, then never return? It’s also been said they were beacons. For what? It’s not like it’s a lighthouse, theres no method to make it a beacon to begin with. Thirdly they have all this amazing technology to come down here, yet they need a beacon to show them where it’s at? NASA has the technology to find the exact place it landed 40 some years ago on the moon, but they need a beacon to find their way back?
How did they gt the stones on to the rollars? For the love of whatever diety! The rollars weren’t THAT big. Did you ever stop and think how would i do that? A small ramp with a drop at the end. Line the first rollar up under the drop, and drag it on. I’m not saying thats how they did it, but thats not a difficult problem, even for these “barbarians” as they’re called.
Most of these questions can be answered if you just think about it. Stop jumping to irrational theories, and THINK. For whatever dieties sake, the people argueing that it wasn’t possible because they weren’t intelligent enough seem to be the people who aren’t thinking at all!
As we say in the Navy “don’t nuke it” as in don’t overthink something to the point that you discredit it’s validity.
Orion’s belt a coincidence? The perfect symmetry, constant usage of pii and the golden number, an obtainable exact numerical value of the speed of light, aligment with not just other pyramids but sites across the world from easter island to angkor wat. your argument is pathetic.
Whoa… You did post my comment… Thank you. But no comment huh? I guess it is hard to argue with scientific fact, over myth and ancient religious text. After all the first chapter in the bible says the earth was created first, then the sun??? When it has been proven that a star forms first, then come the planets. But what do you expect from a bunch of people who thought the world was flat, and that some guy was able to build a boat, big enough to hold a pair of each animal, mammal and insect, plus food for all of them. According to my calculations, this ark would have had to be 2 miles long, and 1/2 a mile wide. It would have taken over a ton of food a day to feed all the animals, which meant he had to have a minim of 40 tons of food. And then add all of the animals, which would have weighed about 200 tons. So the boat had to weigh at least 450 tons empty. For a grand total of over 700 Tons! No ship could possibly weigh that much.
When the Aliens return on Dec 21st this year, I am going to tell them where you live!!!
This whole article is really awesome.
all misconceptions are clear.
A round of applause to the writer. really a gr8 work
u r doing a gr8 work by sharing this kind of info with all of us .
god bless u.
you did not really prove anything except state that there were other ways they could have built them. it is not that we could not do it or i am arrogant for thinking that. the aliens built the sphinx with a lion head (which was replaced by the pharaoh kafre’s head) and the pryamid of giza. the rest are copies. giza is an ancient energy plant. there are machine marks. let me repeat that, THERE ARE MACHINE MARKS on the stones of giza. i will give you maybe 1 or 2 items that they could have known. but to be built on 31 degrees latitude and 31 degrees longitude, facing due north, the diameter is exactly PIE when divided by two times the height, stone blocks are so close to perfect light cant pass through, the sun traces around the head of the sphinx on winter solstice, each side is within 2 centimeters, and i could go on… but there 100 billion stars like our sun in the galaxy and there are 100 billion galaxies. our 1 galaxy is 4.6 billion years and is one of the youngest in the universe. human remains of unreal technology do not support your theory. if we had the education and building techniques as you say with no help in those days then why medicines and extended life spans. because we can now figure out how people died from the grave and it simply does not support a theory of high eduction.
Thank you very much for a very clear and appropriately ‘Eloquent’ article. As a student of History and Archaeology, I feel this sort of topic deserves more thoughtful and organised explanation such as this (and a lot less of the opposite).
Nice post, but I still don’t see how they made it, there’s no proof of Aliens, but no proof the humans made them either.
Margaret, why would… “practical” people (as you’ve mentioned) and I will also add that they are brilliant people, build a mega-structure of mad precision and complexity, just to bury one man’s ego… Mind that none was found inside any of them “crypts”.
The Ancient Aliens series were mostly laughable. Don’t even mention them.
I think you are just trying to position yourself in this conundrum as the one who has all the knowledge. Well you won’t find it on… “websites”.
Might I recommend reading Christopher Dunn?
Brodie Smith has a theory that the egyptian pyramids were actually giant mass relays that the egyptians built for the reaper invasion. Translations for words:
Khofu – Sovereign
Djoser – Harbinger.
I dont think aliens built the pyramids, but i do believe in they are out there.
I dont think aliens built the pyramids, but i do believe in the idea that they are out there.
Sorry but I believe the Great Pyramid of Giza was not a tomb. It had a purpose.
Just because it is a pyramid shape doesn’t mean it must be a tomb! Look at our buildings today… Schools, libraries, hospitals, factories… All have the same shape on the outside but how it looks doesn’t matter! It’s what’s inside, it’s functionality that matters.
First red flag is they never have found a body in the pyramids of Giza. But maybe someone removed it right? That weathered sarcophagus in the Kings Chamber did not hold a mummified body… Come on!
Second: there are absolutely no inscriptions of any kind anywhere. To me, this seals the deal it was not a tomb. For a culture obsessed with the afterlife and moving on, they would include something in a supposed chamber. There would have been 5 pointed stars at the minimum.
Third: The pyramid itself is drowning in advanced mathematical and astronomical symbolism from top to bottom.
Another very interesting point is the rain weathering on the carved area around the sphinx, discovered by John Anthony West. You simply can’t explain how this happened unless it was built pre ice age when rain was falling in Giza.
I think it’s important to consider a new timeline of humanity that could help explain the mysteries of our past. Why is it so crazy to think there were advanced civilizations long before the Egyptains as we know them.
Its about time someone told the truth on this matter!
Eric there are multiple types of ersion, not just rain
i have so much research that would crush this theory. Aliens built them and i can give several reasons and facts why humans couldnt have built them
I understand your pain. I am from Mexico, and I have been raised around the notion that my ancestors the Aztecs and Teotihuacanos built the pyramids in Mexico. And then there are people discussing the idea that aliens built it.
It’s really insulting to heritage and culture.
They should understand that there was intelligence everywhere, including everywhere outside of Rome and Greece.
The Giza pyramids were built by determined architects and incredible stone masons. Same goes with Aztecs, Mayans, etc…
AND, on a side note, people always say that the Mesoamericans worshiped aliens because their deities looked humanoid and came from the sky; this has been proven false, and well known in ACTUAL scientific circles that the gods were discovered well after the ancients saw animals under the influence of pulque, salvia, peyote and other psychoactive substances. Perhaps this is the same result with the ancient Egyptians.
Perhaps conspiracy theorists need to look at the bigger picture, and actually accept trained scholars instead of wading in their own stupidity.
Well I have just spent the last 4 hours reading every single post and I love this topic.
I am more on the side of alien intervention than to believe humans of this age could have achieved this.
People question why would aliens want to do this and then fly back to their home planet and never return. Who is to say they didnt stay and are still among us? I think this forum is great because in life we are fed what we want to hear. I particually like one of the posts referring to Noah’s Ark. I was watching the cartoon film with my 3 yr old son recently and I thought “how far fetched is this? Hold on this is what we are told to be true” I wouldnt fancy being the animal sat next to the lion or the snakes for that matter. Strange how they must have all just got along with eachother on that boat dont you think?
I think so much of what we are told is either inaccurate or just plain wrong that it makes you wonder what is the truth?
I would also like to post this for people to have a look at.
http://mars-earth.com/cydonia_eygpt/
The mind boggles!!!
Great read. Really well done. I am left however unsatisfied. I’d like to at least hear these “numerous” theories on how the higher stones came to be. Can you refer me to a colleague perhaps who has more information on this?
You have to really tie in mathematics and other aspects to paint a clearer picture. A quick answer of “Aliens” is absurd, but puts ones head outside the box.
These are facts that can be checked.
1) The Great Pyramid is almost spot-on North to South, a feat we’ve only recently acquired with architecture.
2) The number Pi can be found time and time again within the dimensions of the Great Pyramid.
3) 2.3 Million Blocks at 2.5-15 tons.
4) The Golden Number as well as the Speed of Light can be found in the dimensions of the Great Pyramid.
5) No evidence that the Great Pyramid was ever a tomb has been found that has been conclusive enough.
6) The Giza site, as well as the Peru sites of Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines, are on a straight line that goes around the Earth, and includes Easter Island as well. This line is at an angle of 30 degrees.
These factors alone leave us begging for answers.
The answer: Slaves did it, is absurd at best.
Our acceptance to their existence is the first step of communication.
The pyramids were never intended as tombs.
The pyramids are some type of sonic machines.
The pyramids were in existence long before the time of the Pharaohs.
Dynastic Egyptians merely lived in the presence of the pyramids just as we do today.
read this link
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/piramides/esp_piramide_11a.htm
Middle man trying to make sense of all this.
An interesting blog that has given me some clarity,
which is nice to know facts from people who study the subject.
The reason im here is because of that tv show “Ancient Aliens” it too is interesting but i take it all with a pinch of salt, and as all who watch it will probably cringe at its lack of explanitory evidence and never expanding on a controversial statement, and its annoying repetition. Yet interesting questions and some interesting evidence.
Now i can see there is a lot of evidence that clearly states each civilization built their own great pyramids.
What i want answered like many beforehand is:
what was the technique in which the top stones were placed in the or infact any large pyramid?
It stands to reason if there were plans to building egypts pyramids they should state the technique used.
so another question: Have any plans found stated the correct technique used?
If the answer is no then they maybe lost
Therefore it is perfectly reasonable that without the hard evidence you can speculate all theories you like.
So I ask if someone could please help me understand great pyramid building in that specific area, maybe the author of this post or anyone who has some facts to clear this issue.
On another note as a middle person its great to hear some of the good arguments from both sides,
the non intervention believers and the intervention believers.
But i will argue for both cases on points thta seem vital:
Non Interventionists
There is crucial evidence states the civilization involved in the creation of all great megalithic structures of the world and cultures related to them and even the evolution of the pyramid that makes them a man made structure.
The Interventionists
Many of these structures are great monuments to history of man kind but some question arise in the topping of the great pyramid, and many other eyebrow raisers from the tv show “Ancient Aliens”.
The idea of aliens coming to earth and presenting themselves to ancient cultures can be easily seen as gods visiting mankind.
If They were involved with some structures and not leave behind thier tools who would blame them, if it were us would we leave great technology behind in an era where it does not belong?
And the evidence therefore is not in the tools but the structures theselves and in the timespan it was achieved in that would be the eveidence for future generations.
Now we shouldnt pin the aliens every time but it can be reasonably argued by the mysteries of our world lightly revealed in the tv show the “Ancient Aliens” and if anyone would like to answer some of those questions please let me know,
i urge both critic and devoted alien lovers ot question everything but at least keep an open mind and maybe both watch the show with a pinch of salt.
The writer is the usual teacher that teaches what they are told. Blah, Blah, clovis man is oldest site, Man walked from Siberia, Egyptians built pyramids and we cant prove it. Anyone who says another version is a alien crackpot. What about magnets or something MAN did? Do I have proof? Nope, but neithier do the books we read on the subject also. How was coral castle built? Sure author has a lame answer for it also. My favorite is how did the get the inner casing which was massive in Giza lifted over 50 feet in the air when the people were supposed to be pulling things around with ropes. Where is evidence of all the trees used to barge stones in? None. The had records of everything from what they ate everyday to who ruled but they omit the building of it. Ha
Giza is perfect, could be man made, but not with current technology. And Scientists have zero evidence to support this weak argument that is spoon fed in the classroom.
I find it much easier to believe in the alien theory, u cleary dont have any facts to back your arguement up just a whole lot of useless rambiling
Btw i think margrets dead..she hasnt replyed in a while or maybe was abducted by aliens haha thtdl teach her
A classic example of a little knowledge is dangerous!
I am guessing that you are one of those people – having never been physically close enough to the pyramids to even realise that we are dealing with a miracle in engineering and not just some supposed pharoahs death wish.
I spent a year studying this edifice back in 1991 and have still to find the unquestionable evidence of who truly built the pyramids.
The truth is fantastic and since we are never told that the pyramids were built between the stone and the bronze age and the level of planning and engineering needed could not have been a random plan. All the resources that we know of on earth back then were not enough to have produced this miraculous edifice.
If, as the author wants to claim that it was possible- Ask yourselves this- Who? and why? did they undertake a massive clearing up job of all the evidence to prove that the egyptians undertook this feat.
The level of technical knowledge across the entire globe at this epoch fly in the face of all of the evidence that is available for us to study
I would suugest that even the egyptians themselves never claimed ownership or that they built the great pyramid as there is not one text or scrap of evidence to back up the claims. The same can be said for Khufu/Cheops.
Who would take the risk that a project would never be finished in his lifeime????
If people truly dig for the truth, as I have been doing since 91 you begin to fully realise that the egyptians as presented to us by the hard evidence available, did not build the pyramids. Ignoring aliens and outlandish claims we still have no unquestionable evidence to making a definite statement, and if we look to the claims made by the indiginous people of the area at that remote time. We could well believe that it was a race of giants and not mere men who undertook this miracle in stone.
I say, let those closer to the event have the last say -even if we find it difficult to comprehend.
pyramids are not only found in egypt but it is found in many other places ….. The interesting thing similar in size and height is the mayan temple …. So who do you thing build those massive structures …
1. Given 2,3000,000 blocks and 23 years that means that 100,000 blocks a year. So, 273 blocks were quarried & precisely cut, moved and put in place every single day for 23 years. With copper & stone tools? Right. In your dreams. So with today’s technology advancements, we should be able to do the same thing with 5,000 people in 10 years. Let’s get started. I want to see this hilariousness unfold. After 10 years we haven’t even rebuilt ground zero.
2. There are no hieroglyphs inside the pyramid. Why not?
3. How did they create the angular passage ways throughout the pyramid? This is insanely difficult.
4. The astronomical alignments are way too advanced to have been created by the Egyptians.
There’s no way in hell it was built according to the current nonsensical theories.